Digital camera report: Olympus FE-300
By Arnold Zafra
The Olympus FE-300 is a entry level digital camera designed for consumers who are in the look out for an inexpensive camera that packs some high pixel counts amounting to 12 million.
Priced at US$ 300 the FE-300 is decent point-and-shoot camera that is equipped with image stabilization feature and the TruePic III processor.
According to Olympus, the FE-300 lets users to shoot high quality, detail rich photos in any situations with its 12 megapixels of resolution and the TruePic III processor.
Key features include:
- 12 Megapixels, 1/1.72″ CCD
- Macro allows photography from 29.97 cm
- 3X optical zoom
- Focal length 7.4 – 22.2mm (35-105 mm equivalent 35mm)
- 50 to 6400 ISO (sensitivity)
- 2.5″ LCD screen (230,000 pixels)
- Takes xD MEDIA CARD
- slim and lightweight metal body
- 115 grams without battery and media card
- Dimensions of 94 mm x 56.5 mm x 22.1 mm (W x H x D)
- Digital image stabilization with high ISO sensitivity and faster shutter speed, face detection and an easily accessed photo edit function
What the manufacturer says:
This feature-packed 12 megapixels digital camera also sports Face Detection, for can’t-miss portrait pictures, and Perfect Fix, which corrects less-than-perfect shots with the touch of a button.
What punters are saying:
“The Olympus FE-300 stands out as a surprisingly small, inexpensive 12-megapixel shooter, though its pictures aren’t as impressive as its price.” - CNET Review Editor
“Get all the ease, flexibility and performance you could ever want from an entry-class camera. The Olympus FE-300 is equipped with an astounding 12.0 Megapixels to let you capture every bit of detail while retaining the ability to crop and resize images later on a computer.”-Digital Photography Review
“The FE-300 doesn’t do anything poorly, unfortunately it doesn’t do anything spectacular, either. We found it to be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. The beefy stats and the slim metal design helped, but a few quirks that seem to span across all Olympus models still bother us.”-Matthew Ruiz
Our comment:
For its price and some nifty camera features such as digital image stabilization, TruePic processor, various shoot modes and the 12 megapixels of resolution, the FE-300 is a good entry level digital point-and-shoot camera. It would please consumers whose main consideration when buying a digital camera is its price. But for the more advanced and professional point-and-shoot photographers, the FE-300 may not make them happy in terms of not so good image output.
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